09th Aug, 2021

Political Party in pre-independence India

Political associations before the Indian National Congress

• The Indian National Congress was not the first political organization in India.
• However, most of the political associations in the early half of the nineteenth century were dominated by wealthy and aristocratic elements. They were local or regional in character.
• Through long petitions to the British Parliament most of them demanded:
  • administrative reforms,
  • association of Indians with the administration, and
  • spread of education.
• The political associations of the second half of the nineteenth century came to be increasingly dominated by the educated middle class and they had a wider perspective and a larger agenda.

Political Associations in Bengal

(1) The Bangabhasha Prakasika Sabha

• It was formed in 1836 by associates of Raja Rammohan Roy.

(2) The Zamindari Association,

• More popularly known as the ‘Landholders’ Society’, was founded to safeguard the interests of the landlords.
• Although limited in its objectives, the Landholders’ Society marked the beginning of an organized political activity and use of methods of constitutional agitation for the redressal of grievances.

(3) The Bengal British India Society

• It was founded in 1843.
• Objective: the collection and dissemination of information relating to the actual condition of the people and to employ such other means of peaceful and lawful character as may appear calculated to secure the welfare, extend the just rights and advance the interests of all classes of our fellow subjects
• In 1851, both the Landholders’ Society and the Bengal British India Society merged into the British Indian Association.
• It sent a petition to the British Parliament demanding –
  • establishment of a separate legislature of a popular character;
  • separation of executive from judicial functions;
  • reduction in salaries of higher officers; and
  • abolition of salt duty, abkari and stamp duties.
• These were partially accepted when the Charter Act of 1853 provided for the addition of six members to the governor-general’s council for legislative purposes.

(4) The East India Association

• It was organised by Dadabhai Naoroji in 1866 in London.
• Objective: to discuss the Indian question and influence public men in England to promote Indian welfare.
• Later, branches of the association were started in prominent Indian cities.

(5) The Indian League

• It was started in 1875 by Sisir Kumar Ghosh.
• Objective: stimulating the sense of nationalism amongst the people and of encouraging political education.

(6) The Indian Association of Calcutta

• It is also known as the Indian National Association superseded the Indian League.
• It was founded in 1876 by younger nationalists of Bengal led by Surendranath Banerjea and Ananda Mohan Bose, who were getting discontented with the conservative and pro-landlord policies of the British Indian Association.
• The Indian Association was the most important of pre-Congress associations.
• Objective: to “promote by every legitimate means the political, intellectual and material advancement of the people.”
• It set out to

1. create a strong public opinion on political questions, and
2. unify Indian people in a common political programme.

• It protested against the reduction of age limit in 1877 for candidates of the Indian Civil Service examination.
• The association demanded simultaneous holding of civil service examination in England and India and Indianisation of higher administrative posts.
• It led a campaign against the repressive arms act and the vernacular press act. Branches of the association were opened in other towns and cities of Bengal and even outside Bengal.
• The association sponsored an all India conference which first took place in Calcutta on December 28 to 30, 1883. It later merged with the Indian National Congress in 1886.

Political Associations in Bombay

(1) The Poona Sarvajanik Sabha

• It was founded in 1867 by Mahadeo Govind Ranade and others, with the object of serving as a bridge between the government and the people.

(2) The Bombay Presidency Association

• It was started by Badruddin Tyabji, Pherozshah Mehta and K.T. Telang in 1885.

Political Associations in Madras

The Madras Mahajan Sabha was founded in 1884 by M. Viraraghavachari, B. Subramaniya Aiyer and P. Anandacharlu.

Pre-congress campaigns

These campaigns were –

(i) for the imposition of import duty on cotton (1875)

(ii) for Indianisation of government service (1878-79)

(iii) against Lytton’s Afghan adventure

(iv) against Arms Act (1878)

(v) against Vernacular Press Act (1878)

(vi) for the right to join volunteer corps

(vii) against plantation labour and against Inland Emigration Act

(viii) in support of Ilbert Bill

(ix) for an All India Fund for Political Agitation

(x) campaign in Britain to vote for the pro-India party

(xi) against reduction in maximum age for appearing in

Indian national congress

Foundation of Indian National Congress

• First session held in 1885 (Bombay).
• Indian National Union, formed by A.O. Hume, became Indian National Congress.
• Foundational theories of INC and prominent believers:

a. Safety Valve Theory —Lala Lajpat Rai

b. Conspiracy Theory—R.P. Dutt

c. Lightning conductor Theory—G.K. Gokhale

Important leaders of Moderate Phase

• Dadabhai Naoroji, Badruddin Tyabji, Pherozeshah Mehta, P.Ananda Charlu, Surendranath Banerjea, Romesh Chandra Dutt, Ananda Mohan Bose, G.K. Gokhale, etc.

Early Nationalist Methodology

• Constitutional agitation within four walls of law
• Create public opinion in India and campaign for support to Indian demands in England
• Political education of people
• Political connections with Britain in India’s interests at that stage
• Time not ripe for direct challenge to colonial rule

Contributions of Moderate Nationalists

• Economic critique of British imperialism
• Constitutional reforms and propaganda in legislature
• Campaign for general administrative reforms
• Defense of civil rights

All-India Muslim League

Background:

• The communal idea that the Muslims are a separate nation was sown into the Indian political ethos first by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, a philosopher and Muslim reformist.
• He had founded the Muhammadan Educational Conference in 1886 but this organization stayed away from politics and desisted from even discussing it as per its own code.
• On 30 December 1906, around 3000 delegates attended a conference of the Muhammadan Educational Conference at Dhaka in which the ban on politics was removed and a motion was moved to form the AIML.
• The AIML was the first Muslim political party of India.
• The idea was that the Congress Party was only catering to the needs of the Hindus.
• Founders: Khwaja Salimullah, Vikar-ul-Mulk, Syed Amir Ali, Syed Nabiullah, Khan Bahadur Ghulam and Mustafa Chowdhury.
• The first Honorary President of the League was Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah (Aga Khan III).
• Objective: to promote and secure civil rights for Muslims. It espoused loyalty to the British government as a means to achieve more political and civil rights.
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah joined the league in 1913.
• They provided the government with a tool to fight the growing nationalism in the country. Even though partition of the country was not on the minds of Indian Muslims in the early years of the league, it came into the picture after 1930.
• Leaders of the league began the propaganda that Hindus and Muslims are not one nation and have separate cultures and identities although they have been cohabiting for centuries.
• In 1940, Jinnah gave a speech in Lahore in which he talked of the impossibility of living as one nation nad formulated the Two-Nation Theory.

Other important political parties in the Pre-independence era

(1) Communist Party of India 1925

• It was formed on 26 December 1925 at the first Party Conference in Kanpur. S.V. Ghate was the first General Secretary of CPI.
• There were many communist groups formed by Indians with the help of foreigners in different parts of the world.
• Tashkent group of Contacts were made with Anushilan and Jugantar the groups in Bengal, and small communist groups were formed in Bombay (led by S.A. Dange), Madras (led by Singaravelu Chettiar), United Provinces (led by Shaukat Usmani), Punjab, Sindh (led by Ghulam Hussain) and Bengal (led by Muzaffar Ahmed).

(2) All India Forward Bloc 1939

• In April 1939, Subhash Chandra Bose left Congress and on 3 May 1939, he established the “Forward Bloc” of the Indian National Congress.
• He started publishing a newspaper titled Forward Bloc.

(3) Ghadar Party 1913-1919

• The Ghadar Party, initially the Pacific Coast Hindustan Association, was formed in 1913 in the United States.
• It was founded by Sohan Singh Bhakna and Lala Hardayal. Its aim was to get rid of the colonial super-power by means of an armed struggle and to set up a national democratic government on the sub-continent.

(4) Swaraj Party 1923-1935

• After the Chauri Chaura incident, Mahatma Gandhi withdrew the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922. This was met with a lot of disagreements among leaders of the Congress Party.
• While some wanted to continue non-cooperation, others wanted to end the legislature boycott and contest elections. The former were called no-changers and such leaders included Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, C Rajagopalachari, etc.
• The others who wanted to enter the legislative council and obstruct the British government from within were called the pro-changers. These leaders included C R Das, Motilal Nehru, Srinivasa Iyengar, etc.
• In 1922, in the Gaya session of the Congress, C R Das (who was presiding over the session) moved a proposal to enter the legislatures but it was defeated.
• Das and other leaders broke away from the Congress and formed the Swaraj Party. C R Das was the President and the Secretary was Motilal Nehru.
• Prominent leaders: N C Kelkar, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Subhas Chandra Bose.

(5) Hindustan Socialist Republican Association 1928-1936

• Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) was a revolutionary organization, previously it was known as the Hindustan Republican Army.
• Founded by: Ram Prasad Bismil, Sachindra Nath Bakshi, Sachindranath Sanyal and Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee.
• A manifesto for the party was written by Sanyal titled ‘Revolutionary’. It contained incendiary material asking the youth of the country to join the party and take part in the freedom struggle.
• It did not approve of the methods used by Gandhi and criticized them. The manifesto stated that it sought to achieve a ‘Federal Republic of the United States of India’ after overthrowing British rule.
• It also demanded universal suffrage. The material espoused a socialist society for India.
• In 1924 – 25, many young people joined the party, prominent among them being Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Chandrasekhar Azad.

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07th Aug, 2021

Important facts to remember about leaders of the session

• Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee was the president of the first session of the Indian National Congress.
• Annie Beasant was the first female President of the Indian National Congress.
• Sarojini Naidu was the first Indian woman president of the Indian National Congress.
• Badruddin Tyabji was the first Muslim President of the Indian National Congress.
• Rahimtulla Sayani was the second Muslim President of the Indian National Congress.
• George Yule was the first European President of the Indian National Congress.
• Dadhabhai Naoroji was the first Parsi President of the Indian National Congress.
• Sankaran Narayan was the first & the only Keralite President of the Indian National Congress Session.
• Hakim Ajmal Khan was the only person to be appointed as the President of INC, All India Muslim League & All India Khilafat Committee.

Important Sessions of Indian National Congress

Year and Place	President	Details
Bombay, 1885	W C Bonnerjee	This was the first session. 72 delegates attended it. Formation of Indian National Congress.
Calcutta, 1886	Dadabhai Naoroji	National Congress and National Conference were merged.
Madras, 1887	Syed Badruddin Tyabji	An appeal was made to Muslims to join hands with other national leaders. Syed Badruddin Tyabji, first Muslim President.
Calcutta, 1896	Rahimtullah M. Sayani	National song ‘Vande Mataram’ was sung for the first time
Benares, 1905	Gopal Krishna Gokhale	Resentment was shown against the partition of Bengal
Calcutta, 1906	Dadabhai Naoroji	The word ‘swaraj’ was mentioned for the first time.
Surat, 1907	Rash Behari Ghosh	The ‘Surat Split’- Party splits into extremists and moderates
Lahore, 1909	Madan Mohan Malaviya	Disapproval was expressed over the separate electorates on basis of religion as given in Indian Councils Act, 1909.
Calcutta, 1911	Bishan Narayan Dar	The national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was sung for the first time
Lucknow, 1916	Ambica Charan Mazumdar	Lucknow Pact was signed. The extremists and moderates reunited.
Calcutta, 1917	Annie Besant	She was the first woman president of the INC
Amritsar, 1919	Motilal Nehru	The Jallianwalla Bagh massacre was condemned. Khilafat Movement was boosted
Belgaum, 1924	M K Gandhi	Only Session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi
Kanpur, 1925	Sarojini Naidu	Sarojini Naidu, First Indian Woman President
Lahore, 1929	Jawaharlal Nehru	This was an iconic session. Resolution for ‘Poorna Swaraj’ was passed. The Civil Disobedience movement was launched. Gandhi- Irwin pact was endorsed.
Karachi, 1931	Vallabhbhai Patel	The Congress adopted a resolution on Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy
Haripura, 1938	Subhas Chandra Bose	National Planning Committed set-up under Nehru
Tripuri, 1939	Subhas Chandra Bose	Bose had to resign due to differences with Gandhi
Meerut, 1946	Acharya Kripalani	Last session before independence

Important Satyagraha and freedom struggle movements of Mahatma Gandhi

The Rise of Gandhi in the Indian Freedom Struggle

M K Gandhi returned from South Africa to India in 1915.

There he had led a peaceful agitation against the discrimination meted out to Indians and had emerged as a respected leader.

It was in South Africa that he developed his brand of Satyagraha. In India, he first used this tool against the British government at Champaran in Bihar.

Champaran Satyagraha (1917)

• The first civil disobedience movement by Gandhi in the freedom struggle. He is requested by Rajkumar Shukla, an indigo cultivator in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system.
• The farmers were suffering under heavy taxes and an exploitative system. They were forced to grow indigo by the British planters under the tinkathia system.
• Gandhi arrived in Champaran to investigate the matter but was not permitted by the British authorities to do so. He was asked to leave the place but he refused.
• He was able to gather support from the farmers and masses. The case against him was dropped and he was allowed to conduct the inquiry.
• After peaceful protests against the planters and landlords led by Gandhi, the government agreed to abolish the exploitative tinkathia system.
• The peasants also received a part of the money extracted from them as compensation.
• Champaran struggle is called the first experiment on Satyagraha by Gandhi. It was during this time that Gandhi was given the names ‘Bapu’ and ‘Mahatma’ by the people.

Kheda Satyagraha (1918)

• 1918 was a year of failed crops in the Kheda district of Gujarat due to droughts.
• As per law, the farmers were entitled to remission if the produce was less than a quarter of the normal output. But the government refused any remission from paying land revenue.
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, under Gandhi’s guidance, led the farmers in protest against the collection of taxes in the wake of the famine.
• People from all castes and ethnicities of the district lend their support to the movement.
• The protest was peaceful and people showed remarkable courage even in the face of adversities like confiscation of personal property and arrest.
• Finally, the authorities gave in and gave some concessions to the farmers.

Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918)

• Gandhi used Satyagraha and hunger strike for the first time during an industrial dispute between the owners and workers of a cotton mill in Ahmedabad.
• The owners wanted to withdraw the plague bonus to the workers while the workers were demanding a hike of 35% in their wages. Gandhi underwent a hunger strike for the workers..
• The Ahmedabad Mill strike was successful and the workers were granted the wage hike they wanted.

Satyagraha against the proposed Rowlatt Act (1919)

• Rowlatt Act gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities, and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
• On 13th April, 1919 the infamous Jallianwalla Bagh incident took place. Seeing violence spread, Mahatma Gandhi called off the movement (18th April, 1919).

Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22)

• At the Calcutta session of the Congress in September 1920, he convinced other leaders of the need to start a non-cooperation movement in support of Khilafat as well as for swaraj.
• At the Congress session at Nagpur in December 1920, the Non-Cooperation programme was adopted.
• In February 1922, Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement after the Chauri-Chaura incident.

The Salt March and the Civil Disobedience Movement

• For several years after the Non-cooperation Movement ended, Mahatma Gandhi focused on his social reform work.
• In 1930, Gandhiji declared that he would lead a march to break the salt law. According to this law, the state had a monopoly on the manufacture and sale of salt.
• The march was over 240 miles, from Gandhi’s ashram in Sabarmati to the Gujarati coastal town of Dandi, where they broke the government law by gathering natural salt found on the seashore, and boiling sea water to produce salt.
• This marked the beginning of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
• In 1931, Gandhi accepted a truce (the Gandhi-Irwin Pact), called off civil disobedience, and agreed to attend the Second Round Table Conference in London as the sole representative of the Indian National Congress.
• After returning from London, Mahatma Gandhi relaunched the Civil Disobedience Movement. For over a year, the movement continued, but by 1934 it lost its momentum.

Quit India Movement

• With the outbreak of World War II (1939-45), the nationalist struggle in India entered its last crucial phase.
• The failure of the mission of Sir Stafford Cripps, a British cabinet minister who went to India in March 1942 with an offer that Gandhi found unacceptable.
• The British equivocation on the transfer of power to Indian hands, and the encouragement given by high British officials to conservative and communal forces promoting discord between Muslims and Hindus impelled Gandhi to demand in the summer of 1942 an immediate British withdrawal from India—what became known as the Quit India Movement.

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06th Aug, 2021

Educational Commissions

(1) Charles Wood Despatch – 1854

• Objective: Wood’s despatch proposed several recommendations in order to improve the system of education.
• According to the recommendations, it was declared that the aim of the Government’s policy was the promotion of western education. In his despatch, he emphasized on the education of art, science, philosophy and literature of Europe.
• In short, the propagation of European knowledge was the motto of the Wood’s Despatch.
• According to the despatch, for higher education, the chief medium of instruction would be English.
• However, the significance of the vernacular language was no less emphasized as Wood believed that through the mediums of vernacular language, European knowledge could reach to the masses.
• Wood’s Despatch also proposed the setting up of several vernacular primary schools in the villages at the lowest stage.
• Moreover, there should be Anglo-Vernacular high schools and an affiliated college in the district level.
• Wood’s Despatch recommended a system of grants-in-aid to encourage and foster the private enterprise in the field of education.
• The grants-in-aid were conditional on the institution employing qualified teachers and maintaining proper standards of teaching.

(2) Hunter Commission – 1882

• Appointed by: Viceroy Lord Ripon
• Objective: Hunter Education Commission was a landmark commission with objectives to look into the complaints of the non-implementation of the Wood’s Despatch of 1854; the contemporary status of elementary education in the British territories; and suggests means by which this can be extended and improved.
• Headed by: Sir William Wilson Hunter
• He submitted its report in 1882.

Commission suggestions:

1. There should be two types of education arrangements at the high school level, in which emphasis should be given on giving a vocational and business education and other such literary education should be given, which will help in admission to the university.
2. Arrangement for emphasis on the importance of education at the primary level and education in local language and useful subjects.
3. Private efforts should be welcomed in the field of education, but primary education should be given without him.
4. Control of education at the primary level should be handed over to the district and city boards.

(3) Hunter Commission of 1882 on Primary Education:

• Primary education should be regarded as the education of the masses. Education should be able to train the people for self-dependence.
• The medium of instruction in primary education should be the mother tongue. Normal Schools should be established for the training of teachers.
• The curriculum should include useful subjects like agriculture, elements of natural and physical science and the native method of arithmetic and measurement, etc.
• The spread of primary education for the tribal and backward people should be the responsibility of the Government.
• Fees should be an example to students on the basis of their financial difficulties.

(4) Raleigh Commission – 1902

• Appointed under: Raleigh Commission was appointed under the presidency of Sir Thomas Raleigh on 27 January 1902.
• Objective: To inquire into the condition and prospects of universities in India and to recommend proposals for improving their constitution and working.
• Evidently, the Commission was precluded from reporting on primary or secondary education.
• As a result of the report of the recommendations of the Commission the Indian Universities Act was passed in 1904.
• The main objective of the Act: to improve the condition of education in India and upgrade the system to a better level

Important changes introduced for the upliftment of University Education:

1. Universities were empowered to appoint their own staff including the teaching staff.
2. The number of Fellows of a University was limited within 50 to 100.
3. The number of elected Fellows was fixed at 20 for the Bombay, Madras and Calcutta Universities and 15 for others.
4. The Governor-General was now empowered to decide a University’s territorial limits and also affiliation between the universities and colleges.
5. After the implementation of the provisions of the University Act, though the number of colleges declined, yet the number of students increased considerably.

Government Resolution on Education Policy (1913)

• In 1906, the progressive state of Baroda introduced compulsory primary education throughout its territories. In its 1913
• Resolution on Education Policy, the government refused to take up the responsibility of compulsory education, but accepted the policy of removal of illiteracy and urged provincial governments to take early steps to provide free elementary education to the poorer and more backward sections.

(5) Sadler Commission – 1917

• In 1917, the Calcutta University Commission (Sadler Commission) was appointed by the Government of India under the Chairmanship of Mr. Michel Sadler, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds.

Recommendations:

1. All the teaching resources in the city of Calcutta should be organized so that the Calcutta University may become entirely a teaching university.
2. A separate teaching and residential university should be established at Dacca.
3. There was a need for a coordinating agency. Hence an inter-University Board should be set up.
4. Honors courses should be instituted and they should be distinctly different from the Pass courses.
5. Full time and salaried Vice-Chancellor should be appointed to be the administrative head of the university.
6. The Senate and the syndicate should be replaced by the Court and the Executive Council respectively.
7. Universities should be freed from excessive official control.
8. Government interference in the academic matters of universities should stop.

(6) Hartog Commission – 1929

• Sir Philip Joseph Hartog committee was appointed by the British Indian government to survey on the growth of education in India.
• The Hartog committee (1929), had devoted more attention to mass education than the secondary and University education.
• The Hartog committee highlighted the problem of wastage and stagnation in education at the primary level.
• It recommended the policy of consolidation instead of multiplication of schools. The duration of the primary course was to be fixed to four years.
• It recommended for the improvements in quality, pay, and service conditions of teachers and relating the syllabus and teaching methods to the local environment of villages and locality
• The Hartog committee on education recommended for the promotion of technical and commercial education by universities to control the problem of unemployment.
• The recommendation of the Hartog committee of 1929 was an attempt for consolidation and stabilization of education. The Hartog committee of 1929 was seen as a torchbearer of the government’s effort to improve the quality of education.
• However, these recommendations of Hartog committee of 1929 remained only on paper and could not be implemented due to the great economic depression of 1930-31.

(7) Sargent Plan – 1944

• The Sargent plan of education came after Sir John Sargent was given the task to prepare a comprehensive scheme of education for India in 1944.

Recommendations:

1. Pre-primary education for children between 3 to 6 years of age. Universal, compulsory and free primary or basic education for all children between the ages 6—11 (junior basic) and 11—14 (senior basic).
2. High school education for six years for selected children between the years 11—17.
3. Degree course for three years beginning after the higher secondary examination for selected students
4. Technical, commercial, agricultural and art education for full time and part-time students, girls schools are to teach domestic science.
5. The liquidation of adult illiteracy and the development of a public library system in about 20 years.
6. Full provision for the proper training of teachers.
7. Educational provision is made for the physically and mentally handicapped children.
8. The organization of compulsory physical education.
9. Provision to be made for social and recreational activities.
10. The creation of employment bureaus.
11. The creation of the Department of Education in the centre and in the states.
12. The use of mother tongue is to be used as the medium of instruction in all high schools.

Famine Commissions during British Rule in India

(1) Campbell Commission

• In 1865-66, a famine engulfed Orissa, Bengal, Bihar, and Madras and took a toll of nearly 20 lakhs of lives with Orissa alone loosing 10 lakh lives, since the famine was most severe in Orissa; it is called the Orissa famine.
• The Government officers though forewarned took no steps to meet the calamity.
• The Government adhered to the principles of free trade and the law of demand and supply, the Government did provide employment to the table booked men leaving the work of charitable relief to the voluntary agency.
• But the famine proved a turning point in the history of Indian famines for it was followed by the appointment of a committee under the chairmanship of Sir George Campbell.

(2) Stratchy Commission

• It was set up in 1878 under the Chairmanship of Sir Richard Strachey.
• The commission recommended state interference in food trade in the event of famine. India witnessed another major famine in 1896-97.

(3) Lyall Commission

• It was constituted in 1897 under the Chairmanship of Sir James Lyall. This commission recommended the development of irrigation facilities.

(4) MacDonnell Commission

• It was set up in 1900 under the Chairmanship of Sir Anthony (Later Lord) McDonnel to re-evaluate and recommend changes in report of the previous commission, based on the findings of the recent famine.
• This Commission recommended that the official machinery dealing with a famine must work around the year so that the scarcity of food grains could be controlled well in time.

Law Commission

• Law Commissions in India have a pre-independence origin. The first Law Commission was formed in 1834 as a result of the Charter Act, 1833 under the chairmanship of TB Macaulay.
• The first commission’s recommendations resulted in the codification of the penal code and the Criminal Procedure Code.
• Three other law commissions were constituted before independence by the British government.
• All four pre-independent law commissions have contributed to the statute books immensely.
• After independence, the first Law Commission was constituted in 1955 in a continuance of the tradition of bringing law reforms in the country through the medium of law commissions.
• Second Pre-Independence Law Commission,1853 – Sir John Romilly.
• Third Pre-Independence Law Commission, 1862- Sir John Romilly.
• Fourth Pre-Independence Law Commission, 1879 – Dr Whitley Stokes.

Currency Commission

(1) Mansfield Commission by Dufferin in 1886

• The Indian Currency Committee or Fowler Committee was a government committee appointed by the British-run Government of India on 29 April 1898 to examine the current situation in India.
• Until 1892, silver was the metal on which Indian currency and coinage had largely been based. In 1892, the Government of India announced its intent to “close Indian mints to silver” and, in 1893, it brought this policy into force.

Other Commissions on Currency:

1. Fowler Commission by Elgin II in 1898
2. Babington Smith Commission by Chelmsford in 1919
3. Hilton Young Commission by Linlithgow in 1926

Other Important Commissions

1. Scott-Moncrieff Commission (Irrigation) by Curzon in 1901
2. Fraser Commission (Police Reforms) by Curzon in 1902
3. Hunter Commission (Punjab Disturbances) by Chelmsford 1919
4. Butler Commission (Indian States relation with British Crown) by Irwin in 1927
5. Whiteley Commission (Labour) by Irwin in 1929
6. Sapru Commission (Unemployment) by Linlithgow in 1935
7. Chalfield Commission (Army) by Linlighgow 1939
8. Floud Commission (Tenancy in Bengal) by Linlighgow in 1940

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